


Number 065

by TiRaven (Estirose)



Series: Number 065 [1]
Category: Kamen Rider Drive
Genre: AU, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-03-15 09:23:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 46
Words: 13,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3441899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/TiRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was not what anybody expected, and Shinnosuke is pretty sure that that the Roidmudes are wrong about the whole thing.</p>
<p>Slightly alternate to canon, where 065 is a different Roidmude than shown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lost and Found

**Author's Note:**

> This is slightly alternate to canon - some things are a bit different (for example, in canon 065 is Judge Roidmude and not missing), though much will be similar to canon events. It occurs right after Dead Heat is perfected, but before the Judge arc (where Judge is a different Roidmude, for obvious reasons).
> 
> Note that this is being written cellphone-style deliberately, with short (under 500 word) parts.

There had been Roidmudes lost during the Global Freeze. Most had been reset back to numbers, thanks to Chase back before Heart had gotten him and Brain had reprogrammed him. But there were a few that even Brain had lost track of, and 065 had been one of them. 

But now 065 had resurfaced, and Brain was tracking them. As it happened, Drive had shown up where Brain was looking, the Kamen Rider trying to end another Roidmude's existence. Brain was about to enter the battle when he noticed what his screen was telling him.

Number 065 was right there, standing in front of him, in the form of Drive. Apparently Krim had kept an ace up his sleeve, subverting not only Chase, but this one as well.

Brain glared at the Kamen Rider's back, deciding it was better to take this to Heart than to capture the man himself. The worst that would happen with Drive was that he might get himself reset back to his core, and hopefully he wouldn't kill his fellow Roidmude while he was at it.


	2. Public Servant

Up until Brain had come to him with the news, Heart was inclined to treat the Kamen Rider with a mix of annoyance and cheerfulness. Annoyance because the Kamen Rider killed Heart's people, but he was also interesting to fight. But now, the Kamen Rider was Heart's problem, because once again the humans had turned one of their own against them. Number 065's resurfacing would have been something to celebrate otherwise.

He'd consulted with Medic, who had thought that this one would be easier to fix than Chase. All they had to do was catch him and repair him, returning him to their own fold. He was sure 065 would fight back, but that was no matter. Heart was looking forward to the challenge of bringing him in and restoring him to his rightful self. The Roidmude who had imitated the policeman Tomari Shinnosuke would soon serve his own people instead of the humans, like it should be.

Brain had mentioned resetting him, but Heart didn't see the point, and neither had Medic. Why reduce him back to the beginning if they could use him? Chase had readily agreed, though nowadays he hardly argued about anything. Still, there had been a certain light in his eyes, a determination to not let 065 suffer as he had.

At least 065 would have someone who understood what he had gone through, and Heart could hardly condemn any Roidmude for making friends. Besides, once 065 came back to them, Chase would have some backup that knew the enemy's tactics and weaknesses.

As things went, the whole turn of events wasn't too bad.

It was easy for Brain to pinpoint 065's location. He was very much a person of habit, and alone for the moment. Heart thought about taking Chase with him, but there was no need to alarm 065 any more than he was going to be.

He did, however, take Brain with him. After all, backup was always a good thing to have.


	3. The Charlatan

Shinnosuke enjoyed his days off just like any other person. With Roidmude activity so high, he was kept busy at work, and sometimes one just needed the downtime.

He had a bag of groceries in his hand when Heart appeared in front of him, smiling. Shinnosuke immediately tensed, checking behind him, and found that Brain was standing behind him in an ambush of sorts.

It was bad, but he wasn't too surprised. He'd trounced Heart a few days before, and the Roidmude probably wanted revenge. His smile was more a friendly one than one that said that he was there to beat Shinnosuke up, which was momentarily confusing, but it really didn't matter.

"I'm coming, Shinnosuke," Mr Belt said quietly, aware of the situation. Shinnosuke wasn't too worried; he had Shift Cars just in case it got to the point he had to run before Mr. Belt came with Tridoron. He didn't like to run, but sometimes one had to. And Mr. Belt didn't like dealing with Heart, but at least he was coming.

"Hello, friend," Heart said cheerfully, which made Shinnosuke blink once. It wasn't what he'd expected at all. "We've come to set you free."

"Or reset you," Brain said. He was coming closer, as if to keep Shinnosuke boxed in. Heart was walking forward, arms open as if in welcome.

"Ah, but we don't need to do that!" Heart's smile widened. "I think his personality's fine as it is, isn't it, 065?"

Suddenly, everything made sense. Heart wasn't coming for revenge; he was under the mistaken assumption that Shinnosuke was a Roidmude, despite what should have been evidence to the contrary. 

In some ways, it was worse than Heart coming for revenge, but Shinnosuke had to handle it anyway.


	4. Backing Up

Brain could have told Heart that 065 wasn't going to come quietly. The confused Roidmude dropped his groceries carefully, straightening up and reaching for the Shift Cars. "I can't be a Roidmude," he said. "Or hadn't you noticed I'm affected by Heavy Acceleration?"

It was something that he'd considered before reporting to Heart about 065. The same concern had occurred to him as well, that 065 was being affected by things he shouldn't have. Heart had laughed it off, as he was doing now. "You're damaged," Heart said. "It's easy enough to fix, if you'll come with us?"

"Right. An android would be affected by slowdowns. Or neurotoxin." He turned towards Brain, as if expecting him to agree. But Brain had to agree with Heart, since his readings were unmistakeable. This was 065, and even if his all-too-human reactions to things he shouldn't be affected by were inexplicable, they could easily be corrected. And, Brain had to admit, even if this one had killed many of their comrades, at least his personality wasn't as bad as some.

065 had detached two of his Shift Car companions, and Brain tensed. He had protested to Heart that Chase should have been accompanying him instead, but Heart had thought that 065 would have found their former Grim Reaper too threatening, and react badly.

Why he thought that 065 would react any better to both of them appearing was a mystery. The two cars had taken off, a dark purple one going in Heart's direction, and a green one in Brain's. 065 had picked up his grocery bag and apparently was going to retreat.


	5. Holding Tight

Instead of transforming, 065 was going to run. Heart quickly batted the Shift Car away, changing to his Roidmude form and dashing towards 065. Brain took a cue from Heart, transforming as well. While Heart had to admit he'd have preferred a battle, bringing 065 in was far more important. 

065 dodged both of them, the Shift Cars continuing to attack to help his escape. 065 was fast, and in good shape, but Heart had the advantage that he hadn't been damaged. 

Still, he had to admit, he should have brought Chase, who was more familiar with 065's tactics. Brain had been right in that regard. 

He finally caught up with 065, who was doing his best to get away. Grabbing an arm, he jerked 065 off balance, catching him with his other arm. 065 had recovered his balance and was fighting back, the Shift Cars now focusing on Heart.

Suddenly, a car roared into view, more Shift cars flying out of it and towards Heart and Brain. Krim Steinbelt had obviously come to rescue his warrior, but Heart wasn't going to let him have 065 any more. He would have attacked, but holding 065 was more important. "Shinnosuke!" Krim Steinbelt exclaimed.

"I'm coming, Mr. Belt!" 065 yelled, and the Shift Cars were battering at Heart's arms, trying to get him to let go. But Heart wasn't about to let 065 go; there was no sense in letting him go back to being used by the humans, the enemy.


	6. Slight Drunkenness

The Shift Cars were coming fast at Heart, attempting to get him to let go of Shinnosuke. Shinnosuke himself was attempting to loosen Heart's grip on his arm, knowing that Mr. Belt was reluctant to confront Heart. 

Finally, Shinnosuke slid his arm out of Heart's grasp, the Shift Cars distracting Heart enough that Shinnosuke was able to also slip under Heart's arm. He ran towards Tridoron and was gratified that the driver's side door popped open. If he could get into Tridoron, he'd be safe - for the moment - from Heart. Then he could deal with Heart's and Brain's misconception that he was a Roidmude.

He was aware that Heart and Brain were both chasing him, intent on keeping him with them. But if they got him, they'd find out he wasn't a Roidmude, and kill him. 

Shinnosuke had too much to do to get killed by Heart and Brain because someone had made a mistake.

He could fight, go into Dead Heat, but he was far more interested in what had happened. That required talking to Mr. Belt in a safe place, where they both had time to think. If he could put together the clues on why the two of them thought he was 065, he might solve this particular mystery.

And maybe he'd find 065 himself and send that particular one off to Heart and Brain, just to prove that they had made a mistake. Heart being friendly was definitely something he didn't want to experience again. The Roidmude had almost been drunk with the idea of putting Shinnosuke back into the fold.

And Shinnosuke didn't belong with the Roidmudes. He was sure he'd remember something like replicating himself, and that hadn't happened. There was no point in his life where he hadn't been Tomari Shinnosuke.

Not that Heart and Brain were listening, of course.

He got into Tridoron, putting his seatbelt on as the door closed. He grabbed the wheel, getting himself and Mr. Belt out of there.


	7. Inner Space

This was something Krim Steinbert had always dreaded, ever since the wounded Roidmude had come into his life. When 065 had copied the dying Tomari Shinnosuke, Shinnosuke's personality had overwritten the Roidmude's. Under his instruction, Rinna had been able to make Shinnosuke far more human-like, feeling the need to eat and drink and being vulnerable to everything humans were, even if he wasn't supposed to be.

It was how 065 became Tomari Shinnosuke, knowing nothing of his true nature. And up until a little while ago, Heart and Brain had remained ignorant of his fate.

"We'll just have to find this 065," Shinnosuke was saying, his groceries sitting on the passenger seat. He'd managed to retain them despite fighting with Heart, which was remarkable. 

Heart had come so close to reclaiming the lost 065, and Krim could not bear to lose Shinnosuke like he'd lost Chase. Nor could Shinnosuke know before the whole thing was over about his true nature. He could not keep Shinnosuke from fighting the Roidmudes, because Shinnosuke needed to fight the Roidmudes, but Shinnosuke was in far greater danger now.

"Yes." He would have to advise Rinna to keep silent, and Kiriko might have to know, but he was reluctant to tell her. To know that Shinnosuke was like Chase and was in danger of becoming like Chase... he didn't want her to be hurt. 

He didn't want Shinnosuke to be hurt, either, though it was inevitable that he would be when he found out. Krim was torn on what to advise him to do; even if he kept Shinnosuke away from Roidmudes, Heart would surely keep after the lost number.

And Shinnosuke was so close to Heart's level as a Roidmude that Krim was not about to let that happen.

Rinna would have to make a projector of some kind, just to make it seem like Shinnosuke and 065 were different beings, even if they were not. And then Shinnosuke would have to be fixed again so he didn't read as a Roidmude.

"We'll go back to where Brain didn't attack me," Shinnosuke said, oblivious to his partner't thoughts. 

"You should collect Kiriko first," Krim told him. Shinnosuke couldn't be left alone for a while. Who knew when Heart might try to retrieve him again?


	8. Total Pacifist

Chase himself had conflicting feelings about the Kamen Rider - Drive - being one of their own. In some ways, he was happy that Heart was going to liberate Drive from the humans. In others? Well, he wished that 065 had been revealed earlier so that he wouldn't have killed so many of their comrades.

Heart had not elected to bring him along in his quest to capture 065 and bring him back to what he should be. Chase had let Heart make that decision. His job was to protect Roidmudes, not hurt them, and unless Heart told him to help, he would concentrate on his mission to keep them safe.

Medic was off doing... whatever Medic did. He didn't care. He doubted the other Kamen Rider, Mach, was a Roidmude. Drive was, which meant that he could only defend, but Mach was still a target. 

If they could destroy Mach and fix Drive, then everything would be well. 

It shouldn't have surprised him that his human creator had subverted one of their own when Chase was returned to what he should be. How he came across this lost Roidmude, Chase didn't care. He just wanted the man fixed.

Heart loped into their newest hideout, Brain following close behind. There was no third person, which meant that Heart had either delivered 065 to Medic first, or 065 had gotten away. 065 - Drive - rarely backed down from a fight, but apparently he had in this case. Heart and Brain were not wounded, and 065 wasn't there.

Chase looked over at Heart, who spread his arms with a smile. "Our friend 065 is very much deluded," he said simply. "Chase, if you encounter him, please subdue him if needed. For his own good. Hurt him as little as possible, but our friend needs to be protected from himself right now."

Nodding, Chase considered his options. He knew a fair amount about 065's habits, and if his job had still been the same, he would have subdued 065 as needed. Heart's command was difficult for him to follow now. But 065 would never go meekly into Heart's embrace, and if Chase had to protect him from the humans that had deceived him until Heart or one of the others showed up, he would do so.


	9. Floundering Scan

Shinnosuke wanted to go to where the whole thing had started right away, but he nevertheless let Mr. Belt take him back to the Tridoron's bay, figuring that his partner would have something to tell him about the whole thing. He himself was still trying to figure out why Heart and Brain had mistaken him for a Roidmude.

There had to be something Shinnosuke was missing, and he would have to look harder to see what it was. It couldn't have happened very long ago, and Shinnosuke thought that it was when Brain had not attacked him - probably flummoxed by the idea that Shinnosuke could be one of his own.

Which still left the problem of Heart and Brain dismissing every argument that Shinnosuke had made about not being a Roidmude. Even if they should have known better, they wanted to believe that he was malfunctioning instead of the more obvious conclusion that somebody had made a mistake and there was no way that Tomari Shinnosuke could be what they thought he was.

"Mr. Belt, do you have any ideas why Heart and Brain think I'm a Roidmude?" he asked. He should call Kiriko for backup, but he wanted to think this through first.

"It's possible," Mr. Belt said, "That something has malfunctioned." 

That didn't give him much to go on, but at least Mr. Brain was thinking along the same lines. If they could work it out together, they could get Heart and Brain to stop coming after him. At least for that reason.


	10. Illusory Deception

Kiriko walked slightly ahead of Rinna into the room where Mr. Belt and Shinnosuke were waiting. Or, as Rinna knew, 065, but she'd kept that a secret for much longer than anyone had realized. She'd been the one to fix Shinnosuke into what he was now, a warrior for humanity, for good.

Given that Shinnosuke had no clue he was a Roidmude, she'd done a good job. She sometimes had regrets about keeping him in the dark, but Krim Steinbert had insisted. She knew more than a little about his Proto-Drive, enough to know that the specs for both systems had been built for Roidmude users.

Shinnosuke, despite his origins, was as human as they came. She'd wondered, sometimes, how he'd been as a Roidmude, before Tomari Shinnosuke's strong personality had overwhelmed him. From what she had glimsed, he might have already been heading in the direction of justice and had chosen the policeman to imitate as part of that.

Even if that hadn't been the reason, 065 had unknowingly continued the human's life as if he was that human, and Rinna felt a certain small amount of pride every time she saw Shinnosuke.

"...best that you remain with Kiriko until this is over," Krim was telling Shinnosuke.

"What's going on?" Rinna asked, beating Kiriko to the punch.

"Heart and Brain have decided that Shinnosuke is a Roidmude," Krim said. Kiriko looked shocked, and Rinna remembered her history with Chase. She didn't think that Krim wanted either Kiriko or Shinnosuke to know of Shinnosuke's true nature.

"I need to go out and find this 065 and prove to them that I'm not it," Shinnosuke said. "The only clue we have, however, is where I was at that point."

"Heart has already attempted to capture Shinnosuke once, due to this... error."

"So, you want me to provide backup until this Roidmude is found." Kiriko straightened up, not that she'd slumped much during the whole thing.

"For the moment, yes. Heart and Brain have already tried once, while he was alone."

"We'll have to get them off of Shinnosuke's trail," Rinna said, already thinking of what she had to do. For the sake of humanity, they had to be convinced that Shinnosuke was a human and 065 had not taken over his identity. If they ever got a good look at what Shinnosuke was truly made of, everything was doomed.


	11. Everything Hurricanes

"In the meantime, Shinnosuke and Kiriko should see what they can find," Mr. Belt said. 

Shinnosuke nodded, straightening up. It would take a bit of time for Rinna to come up with something that would help him, Mr. Belt, and Kiriko convince Heart and Brain that he was a human and not a broken Roidmude. 

It was still his day off, but sometimes cases didn't wait for when someone was on-duty. And for this, he was kind of helping out the Roidmudes by finding one of their own, which he didn't mind as it kept him from being dissected for not being one of theirs.

He slid back behind Tridoron's wheel, Kiriko getting in the other seat and Mr. Belt joining them. It wasn't hard to find the place where Shinnosuke was sure it had all started, where Brain hadn't attacked him. 

Kiriko had her shoes and her bullets, and Shinnosuke was sure between the two of them, they'd be fine.

There wasn't much to find, though, Shinnosuke had to conclude. There was no evidence of a second Roidmude, unless they'd been just passing by in their human form. There had been no slowdown in the area that couldn't be accounted for by his last battle.

He'd need more evidence than that if he was to clear up Heart's confusion.

There was a girlish giggle from one end of the street, and then Medic appeared, flanked by two lower-class Roidmudes. Shinnosuke tensed, and then realized that if he could keep himself safe, he could actually use Medic to prove that he wasn't a Roidmude. He didn't like Medic, not with her likely reprogramming Chase into his current mindset, but she'd be able to tell that he was a human.

The trick was not to put himself into a dangerous position while proving to a Roidmude that he was not one of them.

"You're causing a lot of problems for Heart," she said. Her smile didn't remind him of Heart's at all - while Heart's promised friendship, hers promised pain. "065."

"I'm not 065," he pointed out calmly. "And you should be able to know that."

Mr. Belt was nearby, with Tridoron. If nothing else, he would be safe.


	12. Contribution Margin

Krim Steinbert was warning his warrior, his Kamen Rider, to stay far away from Medic. Medic herself didn't care; she was sure that Brain was wrong and the Kamen Rider was just human unless proved otherwise. But Heart had wanted her to evaluate the supposed rogue, and she wanted Heart to think as well as he could of her. 

It wasn't that hard to trace where he could be based on his earlier actions. A simple touch would prove him human, and then she could report back to Heart that Brain was wrong. 

In the meantime, it amused her to call the Kamen Rider by a Roidmude number, because it was probably annoying him. Besides which, if he was a missing Roidmude and Brain was right, then calling him by his proper name was only right, even if she intended to eliminate him later.

"You wouldn't want to make Heart any more upset, would you?" she asked, just to infuriate him further.

"He'll just have to be disappointed," the Kamen Rider said evenly. The belt was on his waist now, and he was about ready to fight. It would be easier to determine his status if he didn't transform. 

"Restrain him," she ordered the two low-class Roidmudes accompanying her. She didn't have to touch him for more than a moment to verify that he was a human, but that would be the difficult part. Then she'd report back to her beloved Heart and tell him that his so-presumed Roidmude was a fragile human, and the whole thing would be at an end.

The two followed her orders, tackling the Kamen Rider, forcing one arm away from the other, preventing his transformation for a few seconds. She reached towards him, touching a shoulder and staggering back at the unexpected input. 

Brain had been correct. 065 was right in front of her. She was not ready for an extended combat with him, being prepared to find a human. The woman at his side shot at one of the Roidmudes assisting Medic, allowing 065 to throw the other Roidmude away from him and transform.

Medic decided now was a good time to beat a hasty retreat.


	13. Respectful Desolation

It really didn't surprise Heart at all that Medic had confirmed Brain's data. Medic smiled at Heart, and Heart smiled back, knowing that it would be more proof to the detective 065 thought he was. After all, if the two of them had confirmed that 065 was a brainwashed Roidmude, he should be able to deduce for himself that Heart and the others were telling the truth.

He'd come to the conclusion that 065 was damaged enough without him and the others adding to it. It wasn't going to be too hard to locate 065, separate him from any human escort, and take him away. Maybe even render him unconscious, if needed be. Probably would be, but Heart hoped that 065 would see the light.

The whole capture plan shouldn't be too hard to execute. Chase would protect 065 while Heart and any others would take care of anybody who would stand in their way. Then Heart would take 065 with him back to Medic. 

Medic had reassured him - not that he needed it - that when Heart brought 065 in, she would fix him without affecting his personality. 

Brain had provided him with everything he had on the human that had probably served as a model for 065. Heart had no doubt that 065 had been in bad shape when the humans discovered him, and then Krim Steinbert and his accomplices had made use of the injured Roidmude for their own purposes. 

It made Heart want to rage, but for the moment, he'd content himself with the plans he'd made.


	14. Limitless Wording

"Shinnosuke," Mr. Belt said patiently, and Shinnosuke realized that he'd been caught up in his own thoughts after the combat with Medic. The Roidmude hadn't even really fought him, just touched him and retreated, leaving Shinnosuke to deal with her underlings.

He hoped that she was bringing word to Heart and the others that somebody had made a terrible mistake and Tomari Shinnosuke was not their missing number. In the meantime, at least Rinna was working on further ways of making sure that the Roidmudes would stop harrassing Shinnosuke and instead look for their missing person someplace else.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Belt," Shinnosuke said apologetically. "You were saying?" 

But whatever Mr. Belt was going to say was interrupted by the rather loud arrival of Gou, who jumped down the steps. "I hear you have a problem."

"Not anymore," Shinnosuke said, relieved that Medic had probably resolved the problem once and for all. 

"I suspect that the problem is not quite resolved, as I was saying."

"Oh, the one where the Roidmudes think that you're one of their own," Gou said, moving energetically around the room. Shinnosuke had wondered what Gou's reaction to the whole thing would be, with Heart and Brain determining Shinnosuke to be a Roidmude, but at least Gou wasn't accusing him of really being one.

"Medic fixed that." Even if he hadn't found 065 yet, at least that part of the whole case should stop. He could hardly find the missing Roidmude if the rest of them were convinced the case was closed.

"We should wait until that is confirmed," Mr. Belt said.

"And in the meantime, we can use it to lure out Roidmude. They think you're one of them, after all," Gou said. It was obvious that he'd been planning this.

It was too bad that Shinnosuke just wanted to solve the case and have the whole thing be over.


	15. Merry Anger

Chase personally favored just pulling the man away from what he'd been, but he knew that it wouldn't be that easy. He at least had always known he wasn't human, but it had taken Heart and the others to make him realize what a tool for the humans he'd been. 

065 didn't seem to know what he was, from what Heart had told Chase. The humans hadn't wanted 065 to realize he was being used, therefore he had to be human. Chase had fought Drive enough to know that he was a fierce warrior for the humans.

It was why, he knew, that Heart was taking him along. He would fight fiercely for 065's freedom from the humans who had bound him. He might not be able to hurt 065, but he could try to keep him from being hurt any further.

Medic had volunteered to come along as well, despite Heart and Brain's initial protests. "I can render him unconscious more easily," she pointed out. "Chase can protect both of us." She'd given Heart a brilliant smile. "Once we get him someplace safe, I can begin repairs."

"I'm sure I can convince him," Heart had pointed out. "But you're right. Our friend needs to be fixed, first of all."

Chase had nodded at that. It was a good plan.

He wasn't an impatient sort, but it took time for Brain to trace 065 down. He hadn't returned to his dwelling, but instead disappeared somewhere, someplace no doubt to shield him from his own people. Chase made a mental note to destroy that place as soon as possible, after they got done what needed to be done.

When 065 stopped, at least according to Brain, Heart took Medic in his car, while Chase drove his bike. It was, much to Chase's relief, far away from prying human eyes. Krim Steinbert was there, attempting to shield his warrior, and so was the woman Kiriko. 

Maybe they would destroy Steinbert for good as well as rescuing 065. He let Heart walk onto the scene, greeting their confused colleague. Medic was out of sight, ready to spirit 065 off if needed be, and he was ready with his role, to protect both of them.

Protect Roidmude, just as he'd been programmed to do.


	16. Cold Snap

It didn't surprise Shinnosuke at all that Heart showed up shortly after he stopped someplace. Mr. Belt had insisted on both the Shijima siblings accompanying him, and he knew that Gou was hiding out of sight while Kiriko watched over him. Rinna was working on finding whatever was drawing the Roidmude to Shinnosuke like honey.

What surprised Shinnosuke was that Heart seemed to be alone. "Be cautious, Shinnosuke," Mr. Belt said quietly. "I doubt he would come without some backup."

"Right," Shinnosuke said briefly. Just because it appeared that Heart had come alone didn't mean it was true - after all, Gou was hiding out of sight on their side.

Heart was giving Shinnosuke a wide smile, arms open. "Ah, there you are! With your human jailers, I see."

Kiriko twitched at that, and Shinnosuke forced himself not to react. "They're my friends, or haven't you noticed?"

"You just think they are, because they programmed you to think so," Heart said. He dropped his arms a little. "065. Just like you're programmed to think you're human. Oh, I'm sure that they've been reinforcing that. But Medic is never wrong, and Medic's sensors say you're Roidmude. It just confirms what Brain saw."

"Medic is wrong this time," Shinnosuke said with confidence. If she was there, the words might bring her out of hiding - she seemed too overconfident to let the insult pass.

Besides, he'd been through physicals. His doctors might have noticed if he hadn't been human.

"Ah, but she's not. Think about it, Detective. Every time we trace 065's signal, we find you. Coincidence?"

"Or something was planted on me," Shinnosuke said. He didn't really have time to think Heart's implications through - not when Heart was ready to go into combat. "Something to draw you away from 065 and make you think I was him."

"Why don't you come with us, then? A temporary truce to come to the bottom of this matter."

"Shinnosuke," Mr. Belt said in warning. "We are most definitely not alone."

There was movement on his right - Chase. Shinnosuke tensed, reaching for the key on Mr. Belt, knowing that he would have to fight.

And then there was a delicate hand on his shoulder, and the world fell dark.


	17. Way Out

065 collapsed into Medic's arms, staying in his borrowed form. Krim Steinbert had programmed his stolen warrior so well that he wasn't going to return to his own form.

Krim was still around 065's waist. Heart felt a certain vicious thrill come over him at the realization that Krim was likely stuck between being there to prevent anything happening to the one he'd taken, and getting out of there to survive, abandoning 065. Heart almost hoped he'd stay, just so that Heart and the others could finally end the threat that he posed once and for all.

Chase was shielding Medic and 065, preventing the other Kamen Rider or the woman who had accompanied them from getting anywhere near their target. The woman was doing at least some small damage to Chase with her bullets, and probably would have aimed at Medic had 065 not been in her way. She was actually doing better than the Kamen Rider trying to dodge Chase and extract 065 from Medic's arms.

065 - Heart would have to see if he had evolved and then help him find a new name if he did - was starting to rouse from the whole thing. Heart made a mental note to congratulate their lost colleague for being so tough once they all got out of there.

He nodded at Medic, who teleported out with 065. At least that one was safe now. The others? They'd deal with the others at their leisure, and Heart was looking forward to 065 joining them in their revenge.


	18. Boggled Manatee

Medic dropped 065 into Heart's car after freezing him up again so he couldn't move and cause her problems. He would have to be eliminated after a while, but might as well make use of him while she could. 

He was still conscious, but she didn't care. He could suffer all he wanted, she'd just make sure Heart was happy. A small smile came to her face when she realized that his belt had disappeared somewhere along the way; no support for him, not anymore, except for Heart and the others. When she fixed his programming, she'd make sure he adored Heart as much as she did.

Touching him lightly, she forced his body to drop its human guise. Suddenly, Tomari Shinnosuke disappeared, a clearly evolved Roidmude taking his place. She wondered if he'd evolved while he was brainwashed, or if he'd evolved beforehand.

Either way, Heart was going to be pleased. It might be even amusing to trigger an attraction of sorts to Heart, who had eyes only for her. Or maybe Brain. He could always use someone to distract him.

Heart finally came from the battle, and she gave him a smile. He returned it briefly before looking at 065, and then he looked so happy that she only regretted that it had taken them so long to find their missing number.


	19. Scanned Stuff

Tomari Shinnosuke was gone, Mr. Belt resting on the pavement where his partner had been grabbed by Medic. Kiriko swallowed a sob, aiming at Heart. She hadn't wanted to attack Chase in the first place, but he was preventing her from getting at Shinnosuke.

"Chase, let's go," Heart ordered. "Our comrade is safe now."

Chase nodded, disappearing around a corner, and Heart similarly disappeared out of the combat, leaving them and Mr. Belt alone.

"Damn!" Gou swore, dehenshining. "Where'd they take big brother Shin?"

"I suggest we split up and start looking," Mr. Belt intoned. 

"Got it!" And with that, Gou was running off to his own bike. 

As he drove away, Kiriko asked, "What happened?"

"Medic excluded me from her teleport. Hurry, Kiriko, we must find Shinnosuke before Gou does."

That made Kiriko blink for a moment, but she picked up the belt and hurried towards Tridoron, slipping into the driver's seat and letting Mr. Belt assume his position on the dash. As she started up the car, she asked, "What do you mean, before Gou does?" The whole ordeal had come about because Brain had mistaken Shinnosuke for a Roidmude.

Or, she thought, had he? Were the Roidmudes wrong, or was the man that Kiriko had tried to train into the best Kamen Rider she could not human at all?

"Shinnosuke," Mr. Belt said, confirming her guess, "Is 065. We are racing against time now."

Shinnosuke becoming like Chase... it didn't seem possible, but it was a fate she had to save him from now. She'd deal with her feelings about him being a Roidmude later, now she had to protect his secret and save him, all at the same time.


	20. Following Seal

Shinnosuke wished he could move, but he couldn't. Medic had no intention of letting him leave, and even if he could move, he was trapped in a Roidmude form.

His Roidmude form, whether he liked it or not. From what he could see, he had an evolved form, and he had no idea of its capabilities. It was lithe, though, which probably meant a speedster of some kind. He'd have to find out as soon as he got himself free of Medic. At least the car was a convertible, and it wouldn't be that hard to get out of it if he could start moving.

Mr. Belt had to have known. And Shinnosuke didn't like the fact that this had been kept from him, but there was nothing he could do about that until he worked himself free from where he was.

Even if he was Roidmude, once Heart got a hold of him, the persona known as Tomari Shinnosuke was most likely going to be gone. He was sure the Roidmude Executives wouldn't leave him with his original personality.

"Medic," Heart was saying somewhere off to his right, "Shouldn't our comrade be in a slightly more... dignified position?"

"He's heavy," Medic explained. "It was all I could do to put him in there at all! I trust his current form meets with your approval, though?"

"It does," Heart confirmed. "I'm delighted to see that he's evolved... but we need to get him and you to safety."

"I didn't dare let him move... he still might go back to the humans."

"Let me see about that." Heart moved into Shinnosuke's field of vision. "Hello, comrade. Let's get you into a more comfortable position, shall we? You're not leaving right now."

With that, Heart picked him up and righted him somewhat, so he wasn't resting on his back. And then buckled a seatbelt around him, as if Shinnosuke was a child.

"Do you want me to unfreeze him now?" Medic asked.

"As soon as we're moving." Heart nodded at her, slipping into the driver's seat. "Sit back with him."

It seemed like neither of them trusted him very much, which was wise. But it didn't help Shinnosuke get away. 

Heart put the roof up and started driving, and Medic touched Shinnosuke's shoulder. "Cause Heart any problems," she said softly, "And I'll make your repairs especially painful."

With that, he could move again. He'd have time to panic later, but right at the moment he wasn't safe and wouldn't be until he got out of there.


	21. Rounded Corners

Needless to say, while Heart was ecstatic about the whole thing, he was also fairly cautious. 065 - or whatever name the evolved Roidmude ended up taking - was still hostile even though he shouldn't be. It was why Medic was sitting beside him in the back seat. Heart couldn't trust him not to run.

And run back to his human captors he would, if given half a chance. Shinnosuke was clearly one of their Promised Number, but with the brainwashing, he wouldn't see it that way. Heart was sure that Medic could reprogram the unlucky Roidmude so he understood, but that had to wait until they got home.

Suddenly, there was a crash as he looked up from the road, and he saw 065 tumble out of the car. Heart immediately stopped, turning around, and started looking for him. He couldn't have gone far! Until he was in his right mind, it was obvious that Heart would have to look out for him, and Medic would have to keep him frozen up until she fixed him.

"Medic, what happened?" he asked, frantically looking for their brainwashed number.

"I couldn't stop him in time! He unlatched his seatbelt and opened the door before I realized it.' She sounded upset, and Heart could hardly blame her; She wanted 065 fixed as much as he did.


	22. Short While

Shinnosuke landed roughly on the cement. He only had a limited amount of time before Heart reversed course and tried to grab him again; he had to take advantage of every moment.

He was stuck in Roidmude form, but he realized that would make things easier for the moment. Even though he hated causing slowdowns, he might have to. Not that they would stop Heart and Medic, but they would slow down humans a bit. And if his Roidmude form was relatively speedy, he might even be able to get away.

Dashing, he was glad to see that he was relatively speedy, something that might save his life. After a few minutes, he finally stopped to rest... or just to stop.

He had to find a way back to his human form. Even if he was a Roidmude, he was aware of what was going on with them and he wasn't going to cooperate. Right then, he had to get to safety and then he would be having some very hard questions to ask Mr. Belt.

After a moment of concentration, he could see skin instead of metal. He reached into the coat he knew was there and pulled out his cellphone.

There was a lot that had to be done.


	23. Wild Hunt

Kiriko's phone rang. She let Mr. Belt drive the car while she pulled her phone out - to her somewhat surprise, the display showed Shinnosuke's name. "Yes?"

"Kiriko, I don't have much time." Shinnosuke sounded breathless, and Kiriko had to wonder how, since he technically didn't need to breathe. "I got away from Heart and Medic. I need you and Mr. Belt to pick me up before they find me again."

"Where are you?" That was the important thing. They had to find Shinnosuke before Gou or the Roidmudes found him. She knew what her brother's reaction would be to "big brother Shin" being a Roidmude, and she couldn't allow the Roidmudes to get their hands on Shinnosuke again.

"I'm looking right now. It's mostly warehouses." He was probably looking around, putting together the clues.

"Tell Shinnosuke that we'll get there as soon as possible," Mr. Belt said, apparently listening in on the conversation. She relayed that, and Shinnosuke hung up. "I've sent the shift cars in his direction."

Kiriko nodded. This wasn't anything she'd ever thought would happen to her. But then again, nobody anticipated the Global Freeze, either. It made her wonder what it would have been like to have Chase as a partner instead of Shinnosuke.

Maybe she would find out someday, but saving Shinnosuke had to come first. He was still more or less human, and she knew that Mr. Belt would do anything he could to help Shinnosuke stay that way.


	24. Speedy Anything

Chase had always wondered why the Kamen Rider was so easy to locate sometimes. He finally had an idea now that he knew the truth; the other was a Roidmude, part of Chase's charge.

Heart had called him up frantically, telling him that 065 had jumped out of the car while the car was in motion, and now Heart couldn't locate him. He'd informed Brain, but Brain was at home and it had come down to a plea to find the man and keep him there until Heart and Medic could come.

Which was exactly what Chase would do. Chase wasn't much of a talker, but 065 was, and Chase would do what he needed to do to follow Heart's orders.

He used that vague tracking system to find 065. The Roidmude was in his human guise, kneeling down so he couldn't be found easily. Chase debated whether to stand silent watch or to engage him in conversation. Both choices had their risks.

"065," he intoned finally. He disliked having to talk, but it would work. 

His opponent - sort of - got up carefully. Chase saw him scan the area, no doubt for a mistake. "You used to call me Kamen Rider."

Chase made a face at the disgusting, horrible name. "You are 065."

"Not really." 065 straightened his tie. "I choose not to be."

That was bizarre. One couldn't refuse their number, but this one was more damaged, apparently, than Heart thought. He knew that he'd been like this once, or something like this, and he wanted nothing more than to take 065 away from where he was.

But that would have to wait, until Heart and Medic arrived. His duty was to keep the damaged Roidmude safe. 

"You probably don't think that's possible, do you?" 065 was saying. "But even if I am Roidmude, I'm not going to be a number. I'm a free person."

Chase wondered if 065 realized that since he'd evolved, he wouldn't go by a number anyway. But he hadn't chosen a name yet, so number it was.

A car screeched in the distance, and Chase hoped it was Heart and Medic.


	25. Impostor Syndrome

Shinnosuke wasn't in sight, but Chase was, and Kiriko had a feeling that the Roidmudes had found Shinnosuke before they had. She'd only fired on Chase reluctantly, and she was even more reluctant to attack him now. Tridoron plowed into Chase - Mr. Belt was doing the driving, after all - and then stopped, opening the passenger side door. Shinnosuke scrambled in, barely getting his seatbelt on before Mr. Belt was getting them out of there.

"Are you all right, Shinnosuke?" Mr. Belt asked, as if everything hadn't changed in the last few minutes.

"Ah, but I'm not Shinnosuke really, am I?" her partner replied. "Mr. Belt, why didn't you tell me?"

There was a sigh. "I'm sorry, Shinnosuke." There was silence for a minute or two. "I did what I had to do. Humanity needed a protector with Proto-Zero gone, and you had already blanked out the fact that you weren't Tomari Shinnosuke. I merely made sure that you could be the human you thought you were."

"And now my cover is blown." There was a tone in his laughter that Kiriko wasn't used to hearing, but then he calmed down. 

"Yes. I can only assume that Heart and the others will continue to hunt you down." There was quiet for a tense few seconds, and then he added, "They will make you into another Chase."

"I figured that." Shinnosuke was playing with his tie. "Heart seems to think I need rescuing from you." The "Do I?" was unspoken, but it made Kiriko's heart clench. 

"I would hope you wouldn't feel like you need to be rescued." Tridoron slowed down a little, and Kiriko hoped that Mr. Belt remembered that they had to get Shinnosuke to a safe place where they could all talk away from Gou.

"No. I'm not sure about much of anything right now, but I'm sure I don't need to be rescued by Heart." Shinnosuke leaned back. "I like my personality the way it is."

Kiriko wondered how it had been before, with Mr. Belt and Chase and Rinna. What had Chase's personality been before Heart got his hands on him. Had he been friendly, or taciturn as he was now?

In any case, Shinnosuke needed protecting until they could figure it all out, and Kiriko hoped that would be soon, for all their sakes.


	26. Orphan Emissary

Heart was heading to where Chase had indicated he'd be when the Kamen Rider's car sped by, followed by Chase on his motorcycle. Heart looked over at Medic for a moment before following the former Grim Reaper, knowing that if Chase was in pursuit, that meant that the humans had managed to nab 065 - that 065 had probably willingly gone with them.

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He should have left 065 frozen, just so they'd be home now and Medic would be fixing him. But he had wanted the younger Roidmude to feel comfortable. Apparently, the brainwashing had gone too far and 065 had felt compelled to return to his humans.

When they caught up with the car, this time Heart would make sure that 065 would not move until he was fixed. Sometimes the hard decisions had to be made for the safety of Heart's own people. He'd made them multiple times before, and this was no different. It was just that this was a rescue.

Suddenly, the Kamen Rider's car split into three at an intersection, each one peeling away. Heart was sure it was an illusion, but which one was the real one? 

He realized after a moment that it didn't really matter. As much as he wanted to fix 065 right now, he would allow the humans to think they'd gotten 065 to safety. Eventually, he'd have to leave wherever he was hiding, and then Heart would get him back.

Heart grinned and called Chase to tell him to stop pursuit... for the moment.


	27. Keep Legion

Medic was fluttering about irritatingly, at least as far as Brain was concerned. She, Heart, and Chase had come home without 065, but Heart was confident that 065 would be recovered shortly. Brain could only hope so.

"I know!" Medic exclaimed, bouncing on her toes. "The human he copied had a partner who was hospitalized. If we capture him, then 065 would surely come and surrender himself to us."

Brain had to admit that it was a plan. And anything that would end the whole drama, even if proposed by Medic, was something that he could possibly back. Still, he watched Heart to see his reaction.

"He's going to be in pain... but you're right, Medic, this has to be done." Heart stopped pacing to look over at her with a smile. "He needs to be fixed. We need him."

Brain looked down at his tablet. This would require careful planning, to be sure, and Heart would need him for that. To make sure the human was taken without resistance, find a place to hold him, prepare to make the exchange. Brain was good at planning.

"We'll need a temporary headquarters," Brain said. "If we're going to hold a human hostage." Not for very long, he expected, but for a small while.

"We don't need to keep him! We just have to kill him and replicate him." Medic did a twirl. "You're overthinking things once again."

Chase stopped leaning against the wall where he'd been almost stationary. "065 would be able to detect the deception."

Heart nodded. "Chase knows 065 better than anybody. We'll have to keep this human alive. Chase, has he come up with a name for himself?"

"He continued to refer to himself as Kamen Rider." Chase was glaring at the opposite wall.

"Ah, well, I'll guide him towards a more... appropriate name when the time comes. Brain, work with Medic and Chase - together we won't fail."

Brain nodded, starting to think of what he could do to make the plan work.


	28. Recognition Monitor

Shinnosuke paced around the room. Krim watched him, knowing that it had to be frustrating for Shinnosuke to stay inside and not do anything, but he could not risk Shinnosuke being lost to the Roidmudes. Even if Shinnosuke wasn't too happy with him right now, he was at least willing to side with humanity instead of joining the Roidmudes. He'd told Krim and the others that even though he was Roidmude, he was going to protect humans.

Krim and Rinna had arranged it that Shinnosuke be out on sick leave, with a forged doctor's note explaining why. In the meantime, Shinnosuke, when he wasn't sulking, was peppering Krim and Rinna with questions about his Roidmude body. 

Shinnosuke's phone rang and he answered it. "Gou? What did they say? All right." He hung up., his human features looking pale.

"What is it, Shinnosuke?" Krim asked. 

"The Roidmudes have Hayase. Chase picked a fight with Gou in order to tell him this, and that if I turn myself in to them, he'll be freed." 

It was something that the Roidmude executives were ruthless enough to do. "They will probably kill him anyway."

"We're going to have to rescue him, then." Shinnosuke tightened his tie. 

It went without saying that they had to keep Shinnosuke from being kidnapped in the meantime. He was sure that Shinnosuke knew that too.


	29. Inset Roundabout

"Big brother is what?" Gou asked in a loud voice, looking around him. Shinnosuke hadn't wanted to break the news to him, but he had to know. Even if Gou decided that he couldn't deal with the whole thing, he at least had the right to know.

"A Roidmude," Kiriko said, in her best no-nonsense voice.

"I found out when Medic forced me back." Shinnosuke told him. "I couldn't deny the truth then. I'm still not happy about it."

"Well, I'm definitely not happy about it!" Gou responded, looking between Kiriko and Shinnosuke.

"I was the one who chose Shinnosuke to be Drive." Mr. Belt swiveled to face Gou. "And the one who chose to keep the information secret from him."

"He was completely programmed to think he was human," Rinna said. "That he needed to eat, drink, everything that would make him live a human life."

She sounded almost proud of the accomplishment, and Shinnosuke would have been congratulating her if it hadn't been the fact that her technological achievement had involved him. He would have preferred to know he was Roidmude and chose to protect humans instead of done so thinking he was one.

But there was nothing he could do about that at the moment, and it was more important to get his former partner to safety.

Gou swore colorfully in English. Or so Shinnosuke assumed from his words.

"Even if you can't handle me being Roidmude," Shinnosuke reminded him, "There's still a kidnapped human out there that has to be saved."

Staring at Shinnosuke for a moment, Gou turned away. "I'll save him."

"You'll need me as bait," Shinnosuke reminded him.

"Not if I can find out where they're holding him first!" Gou turned towards the exit, hurrying out to presumably find Hayase and rescue him.

Shinnosuke ran off after him, hoping that together, they could save things.


	30. Mediating Talk

Gou stormed out. He knew he was being followed by big bro Shinnosuke - no, Roidmude 065. He had to think of Shinnosuke as that now, because that's what Shinnosuke was. The real Tomari Shinnosuke had been dead for a while now, and 065 had taken his place. 

To be honest, Gou didn't know what to do with 065. Was it possible for him to have been completely reprogrammed as a good guy? Gou doubted it was permanent and he'd be completely unsurprised to find out that the programming had unraveled someday. On the other hand, 065 had genuinely believed he had been Tomari Shinnosuke.

"Stop following me!" he yelled back at 065. 065 stopped, with a look of momentary hurt, and then returned to frowning. "I can do this on my own."

Gou decided that as much as he hated Roidmudes, he could put off killing 065 for the moment. When his programming inevitably returned to normal, then Gou would do something about him, but for the moment, he had other Roidmudes to worry about.

"Hayase is my partner."

"You mean Tomari Shinnosuke's partner." Gou shook his head. "I'll go and rescue him. You stay here." Stay there where someone could keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't do anything.

Kiriko caught up with them. "Gou...."

"You take 065 here back where they can't find him," Gou told her. "I'll find Tomari's partner."

"We need a plan! Gou, it'll do us no good if you get held hostage too."

Gou looked at his sister, and 065. He wanted to rescue Tomari's partner. Hell, he could tell that 065 wanted him to rescue Tomari's partner, and even if 065 was a Roidmude, he was still under Steinbert's programming and essentially acting as a human. 

Internally swearing, Gou looked between them again. "Okay, we'll plan. But I get a say in what I'm going to do."

His sister gave him a terse nod, and then started downstairs, 065 following. After a moment, Gou came with them.


	31. Delicate planning

Heart looked over at the human that was braying loudly now that he was conscious. It was a good thing for the human that he was vital to Brain's plan, and that he was needed for the second. And that it was a good faith sign to 065 that he was no more injured than he was before the Roidmudes had taken him.

While Heart couldn't wait to get 065 back among their ranks, he understood the bond that comrades had and he knew that 065 would be upset if this particular human was hurt. While Medic would fix 065's attitude towards humans, for a short while longer he would be sympathetic, and Heart did not want that sympathy turned into any more rage than he had to.

At least it wouldn't be too long now. It was almost time for the exchange, this human for 065. Heart was certain that the humans surrounding 065 would have made plans, but he was also sure that his own team had come up with ways to recover 065 without many problems.

Medic stood ready to incapacitate 065 whenever the humans unleashed a plan to keep 065 himself. She and Chase would get him out of battle, her teleporting 065 back to the car and Chase waiting by the car just in case. Once the other Kamen Rider was incapacitated, he and Brain and the others would leave, and Heart would make sure that all of them got home.

It was a splendid plan from Brain, as usual. He'd had to modify it a little to spare 065's feelings, but it was still a good plan.


	32. Tradition Maker

Kiriko walked with Shinnosuke to the exchange site. The Roidmudes had demanded Shinnosuke arrive without his belt or brace. They hadn't said anything about Shift Cars though, so Shinnosuke was carrying three of them for protection. Gou was waiting nearby; they'd convinced him to chose a location where he could shoot at Medic or anybody who approached Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke and Mr. Belt had discussed using Colorful Commercial to present an illusory Shinnosuke, but figured one of the Roidmudes would be able to tell. Ditto for disguising him as someone else, or someone else for him.

So, basically their plan was to have Shinnosuke start walking, let Hayase pass him, get Hayase to safety, and then get Shinnosuke out of there before the Roidmudes did. Preferably something resembling all at once.

Brain, Heart, and Medic, along with two low-class Roidmudes, appeared on the other end of the walk. In front of them was Hayase, sitting in a wheelchair. "Tomari!" Hayase called. "You can't really...."

"Me for you, partner," Shinnosuke said, his smile a bit forced. 

"Come forward, 065," Heart called, folding his arms. "We'll send him the other way."

Shinnosuke stepped forward, walking steadily towards the Roidmudes. Opposite him, Medic pushed Hayase's wheelchair towards them, looking all the world like an angel of mercy rather than a merciless killer.

Kiriko tensed, watching the exchange. But Medic, surprisingly, didn't even attempt to touch Shinnosuke as they passed. She just kept pushing Hayase's wheelchair.

Suddenly, she gave the wheelchair a firm push, swirling around and teleporting. She grabbed Shinnosuke, making another teleport and disappearing with him.

There was some swearing - her brother - just before he hopped on his bike. Tridoron also took off, Mr. Belt tracking Shinnosuke's whereabouts.

"Are you all right?" she asked Hayase.

Hayase nodded, trying to swivel around to see what was going on. Heart and Brain had disappeared, presumably to rejoin Medic.

It hadn't gone well, to say the least, but maybe between them Mr. Belt and Gou could rescue Shinnosuke from the Roidmudes, and at least Hayase Akira was safe.


	33. Beautiful Demon

Much to Heart's relief, Medic and Chase were waiting calmly by their escape point. 065 was sitting upright in the backseat of his car - he'd impressed upon Medic that while 065 was a bit heavy, he was owed some dignity, and to please sit him up this time even if she had to get Chase's assistance.

"Are you all right?" he asked Medic.

"He had Shift Cars," Medic said, pointing to a holder on 065's belt. "But I took care of them." She pointed to three unmoving little cars sitting beside 065. "They're under my control now."

He hadn't thought about the Shift Cars, and hadn't forbidden 065 from carrying them. A secondary bit of protection, then. At least Medic and Chase weren't hurt from Krim's attempt to protect his warrior.

"We'd better get rid of them." They could possibly serve Krim as homing beacons, and Heart didn't want 065's rehabilitation to be interrupted.

Medic's expression changed to a slight pout.

"We don't want any more interference until 065 is well," he pointed out, and she sighed, giving a nod of her head.

He threw the Shift Cars out of his car, then buckled 065 in. Medic slid into the car to sit beside 065, while he and Brain took the front seats.

It was a quick drive home.

Once they got there, Medic was soon working on 065, her entire concentration on fixing both his body and his programming. 065 looked like he was in pain, but Medic would warn that he would feel some while she was fixing him. Finally, Medic gave Heart a brilliant smile. "I've fixed him as best I could, Heart," she said. "There might be some residual aftereffects, but at least his programming is fixed now. He won't go back to the humans anymore. He'll need to rest for a while, though."

"Perfect," Heart said, giving her a hug. Yes, 065 needed a rest after the trauma he'd been through. And then Heart would see how he was and reintroduce him to being a Roidmude.


	34. Stepping Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is sort of a POV swap of "Resting on the Steps Alone", with some minor differences. Also, Medic did some weird stuff to Shinnosuke's programming.

065 could remember pain. Pain as Medic was restoring him, trying to purge everything that the humans had done to him. Things were becoming clear - he finally remembered attempting to form a bond with Tomari Shinnosuke and getting overwhelmed by the man's personality, losing his own.

Well, while he was grateful to the man, he was not him. He was 065. 

He stretched, feeling like he belonged in his own form. He could remember clearly how it felt to see it for the first time, and how he hadn't appreciated it because he'd been so blindsided by wanting to protect humans. He'd been a tame Roidmude for quite some time, but Medic and Heart had fixed that in the end.

Looking around, he was almost disappointed not to see Chase, who would understand what he was going through. He'd seen Chase's reactions from the humans' end, and remembered the pity he'd felt for his colleague.

Heart entered the room, and 065 couldn't help but smile. He'd been too busy fighting their leader to realize how much Heart had cared about him. Sure, they'd been enemies when 065 thought he was human, but things were different now and they were on the same side. He knew that Heart would help him get back on his feet, metaphorically speaking.

And, Shinnosuke realized after a moment, Heart was extremely handsome. Of course, he most likely didn't have a chance at Heart; everybody loved him.

"Are you all right, 065?" Heart asked, and 065 beamed at the concern.

"Yes, I was just remembering what I'd forgotten." Forgotten whose side he was supposed to be on, at the very least.

Heart crossed the room, and sat down next to 065, holding him in his arms. "It will get better, and we'll be here for you."

065 luxuriated in the touch. "I know." This felt so right, somehow.

Heart let go. "My comrade, we need to find you a name. You've evolved; you've become more than 065."

Looking at Heart's happy face, 065 considered. He'd never really needed a new name before, but Heart was right. He knew from his deluded rebellion that he was a speedster. "Drive." It sounded right; it would terrify the humans that had once given him the name, to have it turned against them.

Heart's smile dropped. "Are you sure, comrade? It's awfully close to... what the humans tried to make you into."

"Yes, which means it will be an appropriate name to terrify them with." 

After a moment, Heart nodded. "I'm not sure it's a good name, but you're right, and it's your choice. Welcome, Drive."


	35. Slightly Anguished

They didn't find him.

After Mr. Belt took off in Tridoron, and Gou on his bike, Kiriko hoped against hope that one or the other of them would be able to get Shinnosuke out of there. But both of them returned empty-handed, except for the Shift Cars that Shinnosuke had been carrying with him when he was abducted.

Rinna had talked a little about what she'd done to make Shinnosuke as human as could be. While a lot of it went over Kiriko's head - and Gou's as well, from the looks of it - it came down to a tug of war between the humans and the Roidmudes when it came to Shinnosuke and Chase. In fact, if anything, Chase's programming would have been harder to modify than Shinnosuke's, because Shinnosuke was a typical Roidmude and Chase was not.

"Does it matter?" Gou had asked with some exasperation. "They got him back. He's not fixable now."

Kiriko, Mr. Belt, and Rinna had all glared at him. "Shinnosuke is vital to preventing the Roidmudes from completing their plans to destroy humanity," Mr. Belt replied.

And, though he didn't say it, Kiriko knew what he thinking. They couldn't destroy Shinnosuke, and it was vital that they get him back. Shinnosuke was a good fighter, and who knew what kind of damage he could cause on the Roidmudes' side?

Plus, she wanted him back. If she couldn't save Chase, at least she could save Shinnosuke.


	36. Vile Sin

Krim watched Gou leave with his sister Kiriko. Kiriko hadn't wanted to leave, but between Krim and Rinna, she'd been persuaded to go home and rest. Facing a reprogrammed Shinnosuke, when he resurfaced, was going to be as tough as it was - she didn't need to be sleep-deprived on top of it.

"Ah, all of my programming, gone," Rinna said, half to Krim, and half to the Pit.

"We may yet be able to salvage him," Krim reminded her. After all, Heart had said something about keeping Shinnosuke's personality intact, and no matter how much Heart scared Krim, he believed that the Roidmude meant that. If they could get him back, he might not require too much fixing.

"Sometimes," Rinna said, "You're too optimistic for your own good, you know that?"

"I have to believe that we'll get Shinnosuke back, Rinna," Krim said, turning to face her. "Otherwise we will have all lost."

"It'll certainly break Kiriko's heart." Rinna was working on something - after a moment, Krim recognized Shinnosuke's programming data.

"Yes." Shinnosuke had meant a lot to all of them, including Gou. He had come to mean a lot more than expected to Kiriko, and if they couldn't get him back, Kiriko might get to the point where she didn't care whether she lived or died. 

Kiriko might, Krim realized, be the way to get Shinnosuke back. If his personality was intact, he might have little reason to harm his former partner, and every reason to listen to her. Much like Chase, he was tied to her in ways that neither of them understood.

It was something that might not save them, but Krim was hoping that it would.


	37. Warm Spot

Chase watched Drive as the other Roidmude shot at targets with his own natural weaponry. It was all part of Heart's plan to get Drive used to what he was instead of what the humans had programmed him to be. Besides, as Heart had explained, the humans would be all too eager to get Drive back. Better to leave them in a state of suspense while Drive got used to his original body.

Even when Drive was allowed to leave, he'd have Chase as an escort for a while. For one, Chase could guide him in how to take over as Grim Reaper; it had caused Medic to pout, but Heart had reminded her that with Drive's reputation, maybe the Grim Reaper's role would be best.

For another, Heart wasn't going to allow the humans to recapture Drive so easily, and Chase had agreed. He knew the torment Drive had to be going through, having gone through a version himself. He had gone willingly to get reprogrammed that second time, to ease his confusion. Drive had not willingly gone, but that was because his altered programming had made him resist.

Chase supposed he had resisted too when Heart had first saved him. He didn't really remember, nor did he care to do so. Heart had rescued him from a nightmare, and did the same for Drive.

"Drive." Drive was still the better talker, still talky, which Heart liked. Chase wasn't so keen on it, but Heart thought it was terrific, so Chase didn't say anything.

"Yes, Chase?" Drive turned towards him. Happiness practically radiated from him, along with an ease that had stayed with him despite everything that happened.

"Heart said we should return soon." He was not used to this scheduling, this management of his time, but he supposed that Drive needed it for the moment.

Drive beamed at Heart's name, following Chase like an oversized puppy.


	38. Buzzing Kittens

It was entirely accidental that Kiriko came upon the two Roidmude. Well, Chase and Shinnosuke, at least. It was yet another case, and now that Shinnosuke was supposedly out for a few months due to a knee injury, Kiriko had been stuck going on alone.

She knew that the Roidmudes were going to keep Shinnosuke away from his human acquaintances, but sooner or later Roidmude activity meant that they'd bring out Shinnosuke to act as a warrior.

Kiriko didn't want to harm either of them - both had been Drive, after all, even if they'd been reprogrammed away from that heroic role. She still had gun her near at hand and was ready to kick one of them back to their senses if she could get close enough. Preferably to Shinnosuke.

"Tomari!" she called. It made him pause, as she expected, and then Chase stepped between them. He was clearly acting as a protector and bodyguard for Shinnosuke.

Shinnosuke gave her an almost lazy smile. "It's Drive now, Shijima," he said. "I left that life behind, like Chase did." He motioned at Chase, who was standing warily, ready to fight her. "Goodbye."

And suddenly, he disappeared. Chase was still there, though, and Kiriko hoped that she didn't have to fight him before trying to find Shinnosuke again.


	39. Cramping Science

Kiriko arrived back at the Pit just as Rinna was looking at something that closely resembled Gou's Driver. "Oh!" Rinna said, looking up. "Good timing."

She herself felt in need of Mad Doctor's ministrations; while she had managed to fight Chase, at least enough to get away, she'd sustained some injuries. "Why?"

"Rinna has been working on a duplicate of Mach's belt, just in case something happened," Mr. Belt said.

"And something has happened, so...." Rinna got up, handing Kiriko the belt. "Even when we get him back, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have another Rider."

It made sense. She knew what the limitations of Gou's belt were, and with Shinnosuke brainwashed to serve the other side, someone had to fight in his stead until they got him back. And even after that.

She took the belt and the Signal Bike. She didn't want to fight Shinnosuke or Chase, but she would if she had to.

"I need to borrow Mad Doctor first," she said, and it was as if someone had turned the light on in the room, and the other two realized that she was injured.

"Yes, I believe that would be a good idea," Mr. Belt said. As if on command, Mad Doctor flew up, landing neatly in Kiriko's hand.

It was painful, getting patched up by Mad Doctor using her new belt, but at least the pain was gone afterwards. Quite a few of the Shift Cars had arrived while she was recovering, apparently eager to see the new Rider.

She'd probably be using them extensively, unless she had other Signal Bikes. It was like when she was testing the finished system to see if she was compatible with it, which had proved not to be the case. That time, she'd been pretty much tossed across the room. 

But Mach was a different system, not set up for a Roidmude user. It was relatively safer. For different values of 'relative'.

Kiriko would get Shinnosuke back, and hopefully this time she'd meet him on equal terms.


	40. Black Hope

Normally, Heart would have shooed Roidmudes away from staying with him. After all, they had to grow up and gain their independence. But Medic, Brain, and Chase had been exceptions due to their roles, and Drive was now living with them because it was too dangerous for him to live anywhere else at the moment.

He still wasn't fond of Drive's name, but he still wasn't going to interfere with his choice. 

Chase and Drive had returned after Drive had gone after a rogue Roidmude. Brain had been able to replicate Chase's Gunner so that Drive had a tool to use. It had been unfortunate that one of Drive's former associates had come on the scene, but Chase had fought her - a pleasing development, given that she had given them some trouble when it came to Chase. Medic's reprogramming of Chase, to make him able and willing to kill humans, was a beautiful thing. 

"Drive," he said, calling their newest colleague to him. Someday soon, once he had recovered, he would be able to join their ranks as an Executive, but Medic had warned that it would take time. Heart had no doubt that Drive would recover much faster than Medic thought; after all, Drive's programming had been much easier to fix than Chase's.

"Yes, Heart?" Drive looked so happy to be called that Heart wanted to give him a hug. In fact, he did, making Drive beam more. 

"How are you feeling?" It had been his first time acting as Grim Reaper, after all, even though he had done a similar - and more deadly - job working for the humans.

"This feels right." He tilted his head a little. "I'm sorry to have caused everybody so much trouble."

"Couldn't be helped, the humans had you brainwashed." He patted Drive's arm. "At least now you know, and I know Chase is glad to have you around."

Not that it was easy to tell, because Chase never seemed to smile, but he seemed more at ease with their newest member hanging around. Drive's presence meant that Chase could go hunting. Drive himself was probably going to be of no use against the Kamen Riders; it was the only downside of retaining his personality and memory, that he still regarded them as friends... or not targetable, at the very least.

"Go and have more target practice with Chase," Heart ordered, and Drive departed. At least for the moment, everything was going well.


	41. Snoozing Love

"I'm not defenseless," Kiriko snapped at Gou, who immediately held up his hands. He hadn't expected Kiriko to be Shinnosuke's replacement of sorts, though it was more as a fighter since she wasn't using Drive.

Besides, if Roidmudes were shooting at her - and it looked like at least one of them had been using her for target practice - she needed the armor to keep herself safe.

It just wasn't what he'd been expecting at all. His big sister had never needed to be a Rider, even if she kind of wanted to be one.

"I'm not saying you are, sis." Even if she wasn't his big sister, he didn't want to get pounded into the ground by her kick. "It's just...." He found himself lost for words.

Even if 065 was lost to them as Gou believed he was, the last thing that Gou would have expected was for Kiriko to take on a belt.

"Just?" There was anger behind her words, and he backed up.

"Let's spar. 065's gonna be a tough opponent. Gotta be ready." Got to get her ready, because he didn't think that she was ready to fight the Roidmude that still apparently bore Tomari Shinnosuke's face.

Rinna was making noises about reconfiguring the Drive system for a human user. If so, he knew that Kiriko would take that system on. But in the meantime, at least she had some protection, even if it wasn't him.


	42. Late Expectations

Krim watched the siblings spar. He knew that Kiriko had wanted to follow in Chase's footsteps as a Rider ever since he'd saved her, but the system built for Roidmude users couldn't easily be modified for a human user. It hadn't been a surprise that the Drive system had rejected her.

That being said, Kiriko was going to be a fantastic Rider. She had obviously been training for the job, even if she knew that the Drive system wasn't for her. Rinna was working on fixing the Drive system so that Kiriko could use it.

At least until then, it appeared Shinnosuke was unable to hurt her. Or at least not interested. Which was a relief, in a way, and gave Krim hope that he'd be able to get Shinnosuke back. From what he'd observed, Shinnosuke's personality seemed to be largely intact.

That still left the problem of Chase's reprogramming. He'd been willing to attack Kiriko, which made Rinna's extra belt more fortuitous. Krim had no doubt that Gou was happy his sister had a little bit of extra protection.

And at least Shinnosuke would have a job when he came back, thanks to Jun. His long-time friend had been told of the truth behind Shinnosuke's disappearance, and he'd agreed to do what he could to keep what had happened a secret.

Kiriko's phone rang, and the sibling stopped their sparring so that Kiriko could answer it. "Understood," she said after a moment, with the expression that told Krim that yet another Roidmude was causing problems.

Krim could only hope she and Gou had practiced enough.


	43. Crackled Order

Number 062 was causing problems.

This particular Roidmude wouldn't have been a problem normally, but she - for this one had taken a female human to emulate - had decided to start tossing people off of roofs, apparently just for the fun of it. Killing humans, while Drive didn't like it, wasn't necessarily a problem for the Roidmudes; being obviously Roidmude while one was at it was.

For one thing, it caused the Special Crimes Unit to show up, and that was the last thing that Drive really needed. There was the possibility that Shijima Kiriko would show up, and Drive didn't want to hurt her. The other was that this exposed the presence of the Roidmude, and Heart definitely hadn't wanted that to happen.

And for Heart's sake, Drive would make sure that 062 was reset. Because Heart deserved all the loyalty that Drive could give him, and more.

He showed up at where she was tossing a man off the roof, giggling as the slowdown made him fall in slow motion. "062," he intoned, getting her attention. "You are slated for reset, for calling attention to our kind."

She frowned. "You're not the Grim Reaper. But he is!" She motioned at Chase.

"Actually, I am taking Chase's position." It was something the Roidmudes would have to get used to.

"No! I refuse to go!" 062 shifted to her natural form and started running, but Drive was ready for that. He dropped his own human appearance and drew his weapon, ready to reduce her back to her core. He wasn't quite used to that, but this was what Heart wanted him to do, and he'd do it.

Chase stood guard at the entrance to the stairwell while Drive sped towards 062. She was fast, but he was faster, and soon 062 was a floating core, ready to go onto her next life.

"Let's go," he said, knowing that he had to get out of there before the Special Crimes Unit came.


	44. Labor Variances

Kiriko took Tridoron, while Gou took his own bike. Kiriko knew that Gou would try to kill any Roidmudes he met, but she hoped that he would come to realize that 065 was a person, not a thing to kill.

Fleetingly, she wondered if there were any good Roidmudes out there, ones that wanted to co-exist with humans instead of killing them.

As she arrived, she saw Chase's bike. It meant that at least he was here, maybe Shinnosuke too. As two figures exited the building, she froze momentarily - it was Shinnosuke and Chase, which meant that she was maybe not too late. If she could get Chase out of the way - doing so pained her, but it had to be done - she could maybe talk Shinnosuke back to their side, back to be fixed and to be on their side again.

After all, he had told them, before Heart and the others had gotten their hands on him, that he did want to protect humans. She could only hope that he remembered that, and that he could allow himself to do that. Or at least throw off any brainwashing that Heart had done.

Setting her belt around her waist, she stepped out of Tridoron. The effect on the two Roidmude was immediate; Chase drew out his gun, protecting Shinnosuke, while Shinnosuke looked amused. Chase said something softly to his fellow Roidmude, and Shinnosuke said something back.

"I've taken care of the Roidmude," Shinnosuke said, addressing her. "You can go home now."

She wondered if he meant reset, or killed. 

"You can go home with us," Kiriko said. Even if she couldn't defeat Chase, maybe Shinnosuke would think about it and come home. Maybe. She didn't have great hope, but she had to try.


	45. Objective Annotated

Gou arrived at the location to see Kiriko standing across from Chase and Number 065. He was not surprised to find 065 in his human form, the better to deceive Kiriko with. 

He pulled out his Zenrin Shooter, aiming it not at 065 - he didn't want Kiriko to get distracted - but at Chase. He was sure that 065 was, now that he'd been reprogrammed, as deceitful and dangerous as any other Roidmude. But try explaining that to Kiriko! She didn't even know the truth about their father.

He just hoped she'd transform, since the armor would give her at least some protection when they went into the fight.

"Well, if it isn't 065 and his bodyguard," he said, trying to draw attention off of Kiriko. 

"Gou." 065 was addressing him as if nothing had changed and he wasn't a dangerous Roidmude. "I was just telling Kiriko that we've taken care of the problem."

"There are still two problems before me," he said evenly. "Move out of the way, sis."

Amazingly, Kiriko did just that, getting out of his way. He could see her readying her own Driver; she was as ready to start this fight as he was.


	46. Blank Hurdle

Drive dodged out of the way of Gou's attack, grabbing onto the Rider and tossing him neatly into the building wall. He was aware that Kiriko had transformed - no doubt her attempt to force him back into his former life - and was coming towards him.

He wasn't sure where her Belt had come from, but it seemed like a clone of Gou's. It was probably Rinna's invention, or at least she seemed to have reverse engineered Gou's belt.

Not that he really cared. He didn't want to hurt either of them, but they left him no choice. They'd both been mislead just as much as he had, and he wished that they were his own kind, just so that they could be freed as much as he had.

A bit of reprogramming would do them both some good.

"I'm sorry," Kiriko said, punching him. Drive was driven back a little, but Kiriko was soon following her brother's path into the wall. It shouldn't hurt her much, given that she had the armor to protect her, just enough to keep her out of the fight. If she was still conscious after that, he'd make sure she was knocked out the next round.

Gou came at him again, and Drive swirled him around, tossing him into the sky. Where he was going to land, Drive didn't know, but he did know that Gou would probably be safe. Probably.

Turning, he readied himself for Kiriko's assault.


End file.
